The University of Toronto has been a centre for advanced studies of the Renaissance, Reformation, and Early Modern periods for decades, and has steadily built a collection of resources in the area that is unparalleled in North America. The University of Toronto library ranks in the top three major research libraries on the continent, with an extensive collection of primary and secondary source materials in the period, supplemented by extensive periodical holdings and all the major microtext collections.

Over one hundred faculty members conduct research and teaching across a variety of disciplines. Twelve departments offer graduate degrees in the literature, history, art, music, thought, and culture of the period, drawing in students from around the world. Much of the work done here is interdisciplinary, focused through collaborative programs such as Book History and Print Culture, and centres like the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, the Centre for Medieval Studies, and the Pontifical Institute for Mediaeval Studies.

Every year a rich program of conferences and lecture series offered through a range of departments and centres brings major scholars in the field to Toronto to present the results of their research and engage with students and faculty. It is an active and vibrant community, one that has spawned some of the major ongoing research projects in the field, such as The Collected Works of Erasmus, Records of Early English Drama (REED), and Iter: Gateway to the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

Outside the university, members of this community participate in or enjoy the work of various Toronto-based period performance groups in music and drama such as Poculi Ludique Societas, Tafelmusik, Sine Nomine, The Toronto Consort, The Musicians in Ordinary and Opera Atelier. Close to the campus, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, and the Royal Ontario Museum all hold collections rich in the visual and material culture of the period.

In addition, we have compiled a list of websites that we hope will be useful to researchers on major topics in the Reformation and Renaissance. If you have suggestions of resources not mentioned in these links, please contact the Assistant to the Director.